The Sydney Morning Herald logo

Ben Carroll

Advertisement
Teachers, principals and support workers throng the streets of Melbourne on Tuesday protesting pay, conditions and schools funding.

Pay gap for classroom assistants emerges as flashpoint in Victorian teacher dispute

Education support workers have been offered a lower pay rise than their teaching colleagues.

  • Noel Towell

Latest

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.

In challenging times, Victoria needs more from a leader under pressure

There’s a litany of reasons behind Jacinta Allan’s poor polling and restless frontbench. The state needs her government to find a way through.

  • The Age's View
Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Justin Mullaly leads a teachers protest at Ben Carroll’s office in Niddrie. 19 June 2025.

State school teachers threaten to strike as pay talks stall

The teachers’ union says members will stay home from 1600 government schools next month without concessions from the state government on pay.

  • Noel Towell and Jackson Graham
Dave Lawson, Sarah Snook, Gabriella Brooks and Liam Hemsworth.

Stars come out for the men’s final at Rod Laver Arena

The stands were full of billionaires, corporate heavyweights, sporting legends and television stars who were there to see and be seen – as well as to watch the tennis. 

  • Cara Waters
Jacinta Allan with Corrections Minister Enver Erdogan and Attorney General Sonya Kilkenny surprised their Labor colleagues with changes to youth crime laws.

The single word from voters that convinced Victorian Labor to put more kids in jail

Research by the party was finding that too many voters simply believed there weren’t any consequences for young people who committed violent crimes.

  • Chip Le Grand and Kieran Rooney
Education Minister Ben Carroll says Victoria’s government school teachers, the lowest paid in the country, deserve a ‘proper’ rise.

Teachers promised ‘proper’ pay rise after schools funding falls short

Pressure is mounting on the Victorian government to secure a schools funding agreement with Canberra and deliver a significant pay boost to teachers.

  • Chip Le Grand
Advertisement
Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews poses for a photo with political leaders.

Daniel Andrews defends China visit as deputy premier rebukes him for photo with dictators

The former Victorian premier has defended his decision to attend a Chinese military parade and stand near Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin, saying the event was a chance to meet with regional leaders.

  • Kieran Rooney and Paul Sakkal
Jiress Musafiri, from the Australian African Foundation for Retention and Opportunity.

Off-the-books school suspensions fuelling Melbourne’s youth crime crisis

Informal suspensions and expulsions are fuelling school disengagement in Melbourne and experts see a clear link to the youth crime crisis.

  • Nicole Precel
Three additional schools are set to pay the state government’s payroll tax.

‘This tax will break them’: The private schools about to be slugged with huge bills

Mid-market and specialist independent schools are getting caught by the state government’s controversial schools payroll tax.

  • Noel Towell
Aaron Lanfranchi with fellow tradesman Chris Richardson and Anthony Richardson at the Coburg High School worksite.

Builders’ collapse leaves school upgrades in limbo, tradies unpaid

More than $57 million in crucial school building work has been halted, and hundreds of tradies are out of pocket.

  • Noel Towell